Who remembers the good old days when graduating high school meant you were pretty much promised a decent job, or when a high school diploma wasn’t even necessary to get a job? 

Who remembers the good old days when going to college guaranteed success? When simply going to class and gaining knowledge proved to employers that you were a valuable asset to their company? Certainly no one who is currently in college.

We have transformed from a society that looked at your potential after graduating, taking into consideration what you have learned and how well they assume you will adapt to the pressures of the workplace, to a society that solely bases your worth on what you have accomplished.

“I’ve got people around me getting internships and I’m watching myself struggle to get one,” Journalism sophomore Chadwick George said. “I know that in order to be considered ‘successful’ by employers my resume needs to be full of experience and just thinking about it stresses me out.”

The internships you accumulate, the extra curricular activities you participate in and the leadership positions you assume are what employers are looking for in this day and age.

Is it better to hire people who you know can work immediately, or someone you have to teach?  While this answer might seem obvious, let us reflect on our own lives.

How would you fare if your resume and experience were the only things you were judged on? Would you get the position you want? Or would you prefer your future employers take your potential, attitude and personality into account when they interview you? 

College students already face enough stress without extra curricular activities. Maintaining grades, financials, social lives and other responsibilities already consume the minds of struggling students. Now, throw in the threat of not getting your dream job because you are not involved in enough outside of the classroom. This is a perfect mixture for stress and depression.

This system of hiring and the expectations put on students puts them in an unfair position. It forces them to literally give up any free time, any time they have to themselves to clear their mind and de-stress, and in turn pick up extra stress, all in the hope that it pays off with a job after graduation.

The stress college students are under is at unimaginable levels, and they are only getting worse. It is time we reevaluate the way our entire educational system operates, and treat students like learners and not workers.

Email [email protected].